With Retirement Being Postponed by 1/3 Americans and Many Younger Boomers reFIREMENT Is More Important than Ever
reFIREMENT is more important than ever with the current economic downturn, and boomers especially need to begin the process of reFIRING. Lots of people don't know how to begin. What does that entail?
Let me tell you about my friend Ellen, who I have known for about 25 years. Ellen is one of the most heartfull people I have ever known. She is warm, generous, kind, REALLY smart, well-informed. She has been a high level manager in a Fortune 500 company for as long as I have known her. She has traveled the world for her company. She has been married to a great guy for many years. She is in great health--a longtime Pilates practicioner and a gardener. She takes her vitamins and eats really well--lots of veggies, fruits and lean meats and fishes. She has long term social networks--a book club and was in a work support group for many years. She's been a great step-mom. She is a truly beautiful person inside and out.
But something is niggling in her soul. When we talked til 2:30 AM this past weekend, it emerged that she wants to find things that she likes. She wants to explore her own passions but she hasn't known how to start.
I think many people are in that situation. They feel something missing. They feel a dis--ease. They don't feel easy in their beings. And that dis-ease can lead to disease and ill health. Sometimes when that restless feeling comes, people dump their marital partners or get depressed. They feel nervous and afraid. A recent study has shown that some boomers are unhappy and some few are suffering.
This then is the moment to reFIRE! This is the moment to look inward and explore what you like. To look inward and see what is sparking in there.
I told Ellen to do it in easy ways. Don't feel that you have to get special books or set a fixed time for REFLECTION! that makes me nervous with the "job" feeling of that instruction. reFIRING is about collecting thoughts and jotting down random ideas. Make yourself a shopping bag or a folder. Call it "Ideas" or "I Like" or "Secret Dreams." What ever make you feel good as a title. And then just jot down thoughts on scraps of paper--the edge of a newspaper. A scrap of trash paper in a waste can. A notebook. The edge of a letter. The point is to make it informal and EASY. Do this for some months. Don't look at your random jottings until some date that you have given yourself to collect your thoughts/ideas/wishes/ hopes/bluesky dreams/wild ideas and so forth.
This is the first process of reFIREMENT. You are beginning to listen to your inner heart, your inner voice, your inner creativity. You are beginning to VALIDATE Your own desires and your own self.
In the coming weeks I will be introducing a new feature. I will be reviewing books, movies, opportunities that I think will help and support this reFIREMENT process. And I am working on a book as well. More on that later.
For now--all you boomers who are feeling afraid. It is time to start listening to your inner voice. When you are keyed inward and fully connected to your authentic self, you will feel much more secure. And you will begin to develop your own inner riches. I can't wait to hear all about them.
Read more:
Enroute 365: Enter the Dark Woods
CNN: Workers Postpone Retirement
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